Mining Claim Introduction

This mine has historically been referred to as the El Dorado-Rand or the Rand mine. It is located in the Eldorado Mining District and was worked primarily for native, or free-milling gold deposits with silver as a byproduct.

The Mine is located within the El Dorado Mining District and is one of the primary producers of the district. There is some history of the mines from the 1920-1941 era. In 1941 the mine was closed by the War Act.

Prior to closure the mine was operating with a small staff of 16 people including a camp cook. There was a small amalgamation mill with cyanide tanks (25 ton). After costs, including milling, the mine was clearing a profit of $2000-$2500 per month (1930’s pricing). Adjusted for inflation, in 2018, that's roughly $36,000 per month in profit.

Post-War Act closure, the mine was held by various small companies, none who did any serious development, nor which shipped any ores. The mill was dismantled and sold off sometime in early 1970s and marked the death knell for the property. Although there is visible gold in the quartz ores, the history was unknown and the larger mines in the region (Techatticup and Wall Street) took top billing.

The El Dorado-Rand has multiple connecting drifts and workings within the mine with winzes and stopes working down to multiple lower levels. Total workings are reported as over 6,000 linear feet.

Surveyors found various implements of previous mining operations on the property. Tools, and high-grade ore dumps were the most prominent. The waste dumps from the main adit show quartz, pyrite and some native (free milling) gold. Inside the mine, there are at least two well defined lodes which also show quartz, gold and pyrites. There is a side adit that is not near the main camp and is located near the top of the tailings dump. This adit leads into a winze with track and assumed extensive depth. This is likely the reported shaft that dropped to the 450’ level and accessed various other levels on the way down.

The site operated an assumed flotation mill at one time. Foundations from the mill are all that is left of the milling operation. There are various concrete foundations. Additionally located was evidence of an old leaching pond and large amounts of tailings (processed ores).

Roads to the El Dorado Rand are in relatively good condition and can be traversed by most any 4WD vehicle with high clearance. There are some technical areas that may require a spotter the first few times in. With care, it is possible to bring a trailer in as well.

The mines are in good condition and the air flow was good, measuring in at 20.8% as expected. Some shoring and stabilization should be executed prior to any activities beyond sampling and surveying.

This was a very large site that even operating with 16 people was turning quite a profit before it was shut down by the War Act. If the new owner could even match what the previous operation managed they could plan on a yearly profit of over $350k.

Mining Claim Quick Facts

Access

Good 4wd access. Some technical sections of road

Waste Dump Present/Size?

The waste dump is spread out across the claim, estimated at 40k tons.

Tailings Present/Size?

Tailings and separated ores are found near the old mill. Estimated at 5k tons.

Mining Claim Description

P.L. Williams acted as the mine superintendent until it was closed by the War Act in 1941. He gave the following assessment of the property in 1931.

“There are two mines on the property in which considerable underground work has been done, the Rand and the Quaker City, about 700 feet apart. The Rand shaft has been sunk 500’ deep on a 60-degree incline, with levels at 140, 300, 350, 400 and 500 feet and is reported to produced over a quarter of a million in the past. There is considerable ore in sight but of a low grade. The ore at present comes from a 9 foot vein, with 4 feet averaging about $26.00 and 5 feet averaging $5.00 to $7.00, which gives a mine run ore of about $16.00 from which better than 90% recovery is made. About 55% of the recovery is made on the amalgam tables, the balance from cyanide process.

The Ore is of quartz, calcite and some iron in the form of sulphides or oxides and carbonates.

The present operation is netting from $2,000 to $2,500.00 per month, over and above all costs of operation. The mine is running one shift, the mill two shifts and handling from 18-20 tons per day. A crew of 16, including Superintendent, boarding house cooks, etc., is employed. One miner produces enough ore to maintain the operation on this basis.”

William Vanderburg of the US Bureau of Mines conducted a reconnaissance of the area in 1937 and reported the following in regard to the El Dorado Rand Mine:

“The Eldorado Rand Mine comprises 27 claims (three of them patented) controlled by the Guaranty Liquidating Corporation of Los Angeles, Calif. Recently this property was leased for 10 years to an eastern syndicate represented by John Daam of San Francisco, Calif. When the writer visited the property in February 1937, the syndicate was planning to develop the mine further and construct a mill on the Colorado River, about 8 miles east. The property has been a consistent producer, and past production has been approximately $1,000,000.00

Development comprises about 6,000 feet of underground workings. The Rand shaft is 350 feet deep. Equipment includes a 40-horsepower Fairbanks-Morse distillate engine, and a 10-stamp cyanide mill originally built in 1907. The mill equipment is in poor condition. Adjacent to the mill is a tailings pile estimated to contain 50,000 tons, but the righter could not learn whether the tailings contained sufficient values to be worth retreating.

The ore occurs in a series of veins varying from 3 to 6 feet in width in a monzonite formation. The veins are distinguished by their diversity in dip, varying from nearly horizontal to 80 degrees. Values, chiefly gold and silver, occur in fissure zones in a gangue of country rock, calcite, quartz, pyrite, galena and sphalerite.”

Mining World Magazine did a full section on the El Dorado District in 1916, including a detailed accounting of the El Dorado Rand. It is presented in its original format below:

“Rand Mining Co. owns 32 claims formerly controlled by the Black Hawk Mining Co. Under the management of Robert Dunbar, Pittsburg. Operations were resumed in February 1916 with L.C. Campbell as superintendent. The location is on the southside of Copper Canyon, on the Searchlight road, about 2 miles west of the Wall Street. The holdings cover 1 ½ miles on the strike of an east-west fissure vein in monzonite porphyry. The vein has a varying dip to the north. It has been opened by a 500-ft inclined shaft, following approximately the general dip of the vein. Water came in at 400 ft and workings below that level are now submerged. A big tonnage of oxidized ore was formerly mined in the stopes near the surface. The sulphides were found at and below the 100-ft level. Ore now being stoped above the 300 level occurs in defined lenses, the gangue being quartz, spar and altered rock. The gold is largely free and amalgamable, the sulphides being those of iron, lead, zinc and antimony. The lead is accompanied by silver. An electric duplex plunger pump, stationed at the 400-ft level is used for lifting water to a tank on the surface for mill work. In the shaft house is a gasoline engine for operating a skip in the incline and and air compressor. The Venus shaft, 1200 ft west of the main shaft contains a supply of water and this is considered in a separate basin. An electric pump is stationed at the 200 level of the Venus whereby the water is furnished for domestic and other uses at the camp. Electric power is produced by a Westinghouse generator, driven by a gasoline engine in the mill. This is used for lighting and for pumping operations. The milling plant, consisting of two Deister tables, is operating with one shift but this is to be increased to two shifts. The pulp from the plates runs into a classifier, the heavy material passing to a sand table and the lighter to a slimmer, making the lead and zinc concentrates of different grades. The tailings are being impounded. This camp is 200 ft higher than that of the Techatticup and is 800 ft higher than the Wall Street.

This is one of the active centers previously referred to The Quaker City, on a parallel vein lying north of the Rand, belongs to the Wharton estate, and south of the Rand is the Enterprise Group having a parallel vein formerly opened by an adit level and on which development is being undertaken by present owners including E.P. Jeanes, C.E. L Gresh, H.H. Johnson and Leonard & Co. Existing workings show a fair grade of ore. Other holdings in this locality are on strong veins that will probably justify development. The Occidental-El Dorado, half way between the Rand and Wall Street is well developed by tunnels and shafts and is equipped with hoist, air-compressor and cyanide plant. It has been idle several years, but it is possible that operations may be resumed.”

Finally, A. M Smith and Jay Carpenter from the Nevada Bureau of Mines made and inspection trip in 1931, they reported the following:

“At the El Dorado Rand, C.E.L Gresh, Manager, was greeted at the mine on the Black Hawk Claim. Mr. Gresh has discovered some new ore at the surface within a few feet of the 200 foot shaft on his property. He is of the opinion that a N & S fault with a westerly dip has cut off the adjacent Wall Street ore body and hopes he may have encountered the extension of it or a parallel vein. Additional development will be necessary to prove up this theory. Mr. Gresh is running cross-cuts to the west from the 100 foot level of his shaft to see if he cannot open up the long lost Wall Street vein continuation.”